Epoxidized poly(decenyloxazoline) in thermoset coatings

The side chain double bonds of poly(decenyloxazoline) were epoxidized using standard techniques. The epoxidation was facile and a high percentage of the double bonds were converted to oxirane groups. Films of the epoxidized resin were cured at an elevated temperature with either diamine or anhydride crosslinking agents. Both types of crosslinking agents yielded cured films with good solvent resistance, high hardness, and high gloss. The films cured with the anhydride crosslinkers and the higher molecular weight diamine had better properties than the films cured with the low molecular weight diamine. This could be because some of the low molecular weight diamine was lost due to evaporation during the cure cycle, which would result in lower crosslink density.